Quinnipiac University National Poll is out with their latest polling data and it paints an ugly picture of Donald Trump and his first year in office. Let’s go to the lowlights, where 56 percent of voters give him a “D” or an “F”:
I mean D’s and F’s? These aren’t mild disapproval grades, these are flunking disapproval grades, and you know that many people out there are reluctant to give out D’s and F’s. All this, despite the relatively good economy (I’ve had more work to do myself). Stunningly bad marks.
Floundering in conversation
About a bad immigrant
Mr. Trump: This person on the west side that killed eight people and badly, you heard me say yesterday, badly, badly wounded about 12. I mean people losing arms and legs—nobody even talks about that. But they say killed eight and that’s it. I mean you have people—ones walking around without—missing two legs. And the person was running to stay in shape and now he’s missing two legs. Think of it.
Now to the Wall
Mr. Trump: If I’m standing here, I want to be able to see 200 yards out. I want to be able to see, I don’t want to have a piece of concrete that I can’t see.
WSJ: Yes.
Mr. Trump: Now on the wall we have cameras and we have highly sophisticated equipment, but the wall – the Border Patrol tells me the other way’s more expensive. It’s not less expensive. We have to have vision through the wall.
WSJ: But…
Mr. Trump: This is going to be state of the art wall; this will be state of the art. But, I can fully understand why you’d have to have vision. I’d like to be able to see three or four hundred yards instead of we’re at a wall we have no idea who’s on the other side. Does this make sense or am I just wasting my time?
No, Donald, it doesn’t make any sense, and yes, you are wasting your time. And, you know what building material is easiest to see through? AIR.
Foul-mouthed Trump then called some countries shit-holes
and indicated that he didn’t want immigrants from there. He wants more immigrants from Norwmay. I won’t embed the video (having computer issues)
Rachel Maddow reports on Donald Trump's characterization of some sources of immigration as "shithole countries" and notes that Donald Trump's racist remarks are being used in many court cases to overturn some of his most radical, racist policies
Of course, people are more likely to leave a country that is having problems than to emigrate from one that is working well — but the racism was so blatant that even a few Republicans were freaking out. And it’s nice to know that the phrases may backfire.
Frussia, Frussia, Frussia
Bannon is going to get interviewed!
Steve Bannon plans to “fully cooperate” with Trump-Russia investigators and that is perhaps understating the case since Bannon has no reason in the world now not to do everything in his power to take Donald Trump down and out, since in essence that is what Trump has done to him.
Fusion GPS transcripts should put an end to crazy conspiracy theories — thank you, Feinstein!
The transcript of the Senate intelligence committee’s interview with Fusion GPS director Glenn Simpson is now in the public domain, put there by a frustrated Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the wake of ongoing Republican conspiracy theories about what Simpson did or did not tell the Senate.
Somehow, GOP critics of the Trump-Russia investigation have tried to put a positive spin on these materials, as if Simpson’s answers prove their point that the whole business is a witch hunt.
and
None of Glenn Simpson's testimony supports the rickety Jenga pile of Republican theories implicating Clinton, Steele and the FBI.
I liked this because it was in USA Today, a paper that’s easy to read and hence accessible to more of the population. Besides, I liked the use of the word “Jenga.”
Guess who’s contacting Congress? Not just us, but CEOs (and some of you readers may be CEOs, who knows) and even Republican reps sort of pay attention to CEOs…
More than 100 chief executive officers—including the heads of Apple, AT&T, the Gap, General Motors, Lyft, Starbucks, and Target—have signed a letter urging congressional leaders to act as soon as possible on legislation protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. “The imminent termination of the DACA program,” the letter states, “is creating an impending crisis for workforces across the country. It is critical that Congress act to pass legislation before January 19th”:
Why? What else, sexual misconduct allegations!
Washington correspondent James Rosen abruptly parted ways with the network at the end of 2017 with little fanfare after a nearly 20-year career. Now, NPR reports that Rosen’s departure came amid sexual harassment allegations from some of Fox News’s female journalists.
NPR’s David Folkenflik confirmed details of the accusations with eight of Rosen’s former Fox News colleagues:
It’s good to see that even FOX is taking sexual harassment seriously.
Republican leaders are considering skipping passage of a GOP budget this year — a blow to the party’s weakened fiscal hawks that would squash all 2018 efforts to revamp entitlements or repeal Obamacare.
White House and Hill GOP leaders discussed the possibility of forgoing the painful budget process during last weekend’s Camp David legislative summit, according to four sources familiar with the talks. ... it would mean the GOP’s 2018 agenda would be sharply limited: Only with passage of a joint House-Senate budget can Republicans deploy reconciliation tools, which allow them to circumvent the Senate filibuster and bypass Democrats, as they did on last year’s successful tax bill and failed Obamacare repeal push.
It’s always nice to see the Republicans’ agenda limited, and especially great that the election of Jones (in Alabama!) has helped put a stopper in it.
Quinnipiac released a stunning poll Thursday that basically reads like a dream for Democrats heading into 2018 as Republicans continue their mad dash to the exits ahead of the election.
The diary looks at Sessions and marijuana, Trump and that stupid wall, the dreamers, that horrible tax plan, basically everything, and of course, Democrats have it all because Rs have nothing. Which means:
Add it all up and Democrats have a +17 advantage on the generic ballot question for both the House and Senate in this poll. Sweet.
The district attorneys for Manhattan and Brooklyn have announced that their offices will no longer seek bail for most non-felony cases, allowing defendants to be released on their own recognizance rather than sit in jail or fork over big sums of cash while awaiting trial for crimes deemed less serious.
The change could save New Yorkers millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of days of jail time, and follows a city, state and nationwide trend towards reforming the system of pre-trial justice.
It was announced this past week that a coal mine - the 4 West Mine - in southwestern Pennsylvania will close. It's another blow to the coal industry, which President Trump has promised to revive. Mepco, the company that owns 4 West, said it would be shutting down the Greene County mine because it had become less productive and more costly to operate. About 400 workers will lose their jobs.
Now, no one wants to be happy about unemployment, but we can’t afford more coal in the environment. And at least this won’t be blamed on Obama. We need to wash the soot from the remaining Trump supporters
Friends, or at least sane people, in other places:
February trip to UK canceled by Trump. Pathetic excuse (and of course, not true) about the embassy. Real reasons may be that mass protests are expected (or maybe he expects to no longer be president 😄 )
Fire and Fury selling well in North Korea. I won’t insert a link, but given how bleak life is in that country, it’s nice to think that some readers there are enjoying some Schadenfreude.
Francisco, who works for Trump, flubs his presentation to Supreme Court (thanks Sotomayor). The issue is important, too, voting rights.
Fake News not accepted in the Netherlands. Push back on the new US, Trumpian, envoy.
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